Today in
the world, where more than five billion people are living, Islam
is the only religion which is based solely on the Divine Unity (Tawhid).
All other religions, whether of God-revealed origin like Judaism
and Christianity, or essentially polytheistic, have been darkened
somehow by a cloud of polytheism or paganism.

Islam
and other religions in respect to the concept of deity

All
religion, as stated before, which had been revealed to the
Prophets of various nations was the same in essence, but in the
course of time its message had been misinterpreted and it had
become mixed up with superstitions and had degenerated into
magical practices and meaningless rituals. The conception of God,
the very core of religion, had become debased by (a) the
anthromorphic tendency of turning God into a being with human
shape and passions, (b) by deification of the angels, (c) by the
association of other personalities with Godhead of the one and
only God (as in Hinduism and Christianity), (d) by making the
Prophets or some godly persons into incarnations of God (e.g.,
Jesus Christ in Christianity, the Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism,
Krishna and Rama in Hinduism), and (e) by the personification of
the attributes of God into separate Divine persons (e.g., the
Christian Trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and
the Hindu Trimutri of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). The Holy Prophet
of Islam Muhammad (God’s peace and blessing be upon him and his
household) rejected all such theological trends and restored the
conception of God to its pristine purity as the only Creator,
Sustainer and Master of all the creation (Rabbu’l-alamin ve
ilahuhum ve malikuhum). Thus, as John Davenpurt puts it,

Among
many excellencies of which the Quran may justly boast are
two eminently conspicuous: the one being the tone of awe and
reverence which it always observes when speaking of, or
referring to, the Deity, to Whom it never attributes human
frailties and passions; the other the total absence
throughout it of all impure, immoral and indecent ideas,
expressions, narratives, etc., blemishes, which, it is much
to be regretted, of too frequent occurrence in the Jewish
scriptures.

Man is
not, in essence, an omnipotent being

Although
we, the people of the scientific age, have been blinded to some
fundamental human limitations by great advances in technology, man
is not, in essence, an omnipotent being. Neither he is
self-sufficient and self-existing nor are his powers without
limitations. He is, in fact, weak, frail, needy and destitute. He
cannot create even a leaf or a gnat, of an insect, nor can he form
a molecule of water without much expenditure, a fact which modern
man does not wish to confess under the spell of modern technology.
All natural events from the rising and setting of the sun to the
movements of atoms, which he seems satisfied to ascribe to natural
laws although they nominally, but not really and externally,
exist, take place without his intervention. Furthermore, his own
body works independently of him so that he cannot prevent himself
from sleeping and becoming hungry or thirsty, and a microscopic
creature can cause his death. He is always accompanied by sorrows
arising from the misfortunes of the past, and by worries about the
future. Fear, love and expectations are inseparable from his
earthly existence, while such things as youth and beauty, of which
he is very fond, leave him without saying “good-bye”. Things
such as misfortunes, old age and death, however greatly he fears
them, overwhelm him unexpectedly. There are countless requirements
which he needs to maintain his existence, but none of them are
essentially and totally under his control. He may be injured by
many other events; accidents may bring his hopes to a sudden end;
diseases and calamities always threaten him and mar his way to
happiness. He experiences earthquakes, storms, floods, fires, and
other natural catastrophies. The vast variety of phenomena, on the
one hand, and the consciousness of his own frailty on the other,
impress him with a deep sense of his own weakness and
helplessness.

Modern
man actually needs religion more than the ‘primitive man’

In spite of
his claims to have complete dominance over nature, and of the
great advances in his ‘conquering’ space so that he seems no
longer to have need of divinity or religion, modern man actually
needs religion more than the ‘primitive man’. He may not be
worshipping fetishes of the ‘primitive’ man such as trees,
animals, rivers, fire, rain, and heavenly bodies, but, as Erich
Fromm puts it, fetishism has not ceased to be the religion of
millions of people. The number of fetishes worshipped by modern
man today is much greater; national heroes, film stars,
politicians, football players, and musicians are the fetishes of
modern man. Furthermore, such modern religions as ‘transcendental
meditation, necromancy, and the worship of Satan and genies’ are
being practiced by millions, who cannot be satisfied with
scientific and technological advancements and what they have
brought to the human life. Besides this, stadiums, night clubs,
casinos, trade unions’ buildings, and even factories and some
institutions become places where the devotion of the masses is
engaged instead of worship. This they substitute since they have
not been able to suppress their need for worship. It is inevitable
for one who does not believe in and worship the One God to be the
slave of numerous deities.

Tawhid
in the universe and as the highest conception of deity

It is
Tawhid, that is the Principle of Divine Unity and Oneness, which
is clearly observed throughout the universe. Whoever takes a look
at himself and his environment can easily discern that everything
depends upon this basic principle of God-revealed Religion. Parts
of the human body, for example, are in close cooperation with one
another, and each cell of it is so connected with the whole body
that it is impossible not to conclude that He Who has created the
single cell is also He Who created the whole body. Likewise, the
elements comprising the universe are interrelated and in harmony
with each other and the universe as a whole. One cannot help
believing that the entire universe from particles to the galaxies
has been brought into existence by the same Creator, and further
that the motion of particles observed in an atom is the same as
that is observed in the solar system. Everything originates from
‘one’ and eventually will return to ‘one’, as stated in
the Quran: “We originated the first creation, so We shall
bring it back (to its former state) again.” (21:104) A tree, for
instance, grows out of a seed or a stone to result finally in a
seed or stone. These visible evidences explain why an orderliness
and harmony are observed in the whole universe because it operates
in strict obedience to the One Who has established that order; in
other words, it is directly operated by the Creator, the One, the
All-omnipotent and the All-knowing. Otherwise, as pointed out in
the Quran “each god would have taken off what he created and
some of them would have risen up over others; had there been gods
in earth and heaven other than God, they both had been in
disorder.” (21:22)

Tawhid is
the highest conception of deity, the knowledge of which God has
sent to mankind in all ages through His Prophets. It was this same
knowledge which all the Prophets including Moses, Jesus and the
Prophet Muhammad (God’s blessings be upon them all) brought to
mankind. Men became guilty of polytheism or idol-worship after the
demise of their Prophets only because they deviated from the pure
teachings of the Prophets. They relied upon their own faulty
reasoning, false perceptions and biased interpretations in order
to satisfy their lusts, which they would be unable to do with a
Tawhid-based system where they would have to obey the commandments
of the One Supreme God.

“The
foremost in religion”, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the Fourth Caliph, is
reported to have said, “is God’s knowledge, the perfection of
His knowledge is to testify to Him, the perfection of testifying
to Him is to believe in His Oneness, the perfection of believing
in His Oneness is to regard Him as pure and the perfection of His
purity is to deny all kinds of negative attributes about Him.”
He is infinite and eternal; He is self-existent and
self-sufficient. As stated in the Quran, “He is God, One,
needy of nothing and Everlasting Refuge; He begets not, nor is He
begotten; and there is none like unto Him. Vision perceives Him
not, and He perceives all vision. Nothing whatsoever (is there)
like the like of Him; and He (alone) is the All-Hearing and
All-Seeing.” In the words of Ali again, “He is Being but not
through the phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not
from non-existence. He is with everything but not by physical
nearness. He is different from everything but not by physical
separation. He acts but without the accompaniment of movements and
instruments. He is the One, only such that there is none with whom
He keeps company or whom He misses in his absence.”

God’s
Attributes cannot be transferred nor could they be present in
another since they are infinite. A being who is incapable of
remaining alive by himself cannot give life to others. The one who
cannot protect his own power is definitely unsuited to govern the
vast universe. The more one reflects upon the matter, the firmer
would be one’s conviction that all the divine powers and
attributes must exist in one and the same being alone.

The
implications of Tawhid in individual and social lives of
people

One who
believes in Tawhid can never be narrow-minded in his outlook. His
belief in One God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the
Master of the east and the west and Sustainer of the entire
universe, leads him to look upon everything as belonging to the
same Lord, to Whom he himself belongs, so that he does not regard
anything in the universe as an alien. His sympathy, love, and
service do not remain confined to any particular race, color or
group, and he comes to comprehend the significance of the
Prophetic saying: “O servants of God, be brethren!”

Belief in
Tawhid produces highest degree of self-respect and self-esteem in
man. The believer knows that God alone is the Possessor of all
power, and that none besides Him can benefit or harm a person, or
provide for his needs, or give or take away life or wield
authority and influence. This conviction makes him indifferent to,
and independent and fearless of, all powers other than those of
God. He never bows his head in homage to any of God’s creatures,
nor does he hold out his hand to anyone else.

The
follower of polytheism is one who, even though he be a despotic
king or president, will abase himself and bow his head before
whomsoever he finds it of advantage to do so. The follower of
Tawhid, however, is one who never debases himself to worship any
created being no matter how powerful and rich he might be, and
never would take anything, even if it were Paradise, other than by
God’s pleasure and approval. The follower of polytheism is one,
who, even though he is harsh and unyielding, prostrates himself
before him from whom he expects an atom of benefit, while the
follower of Tawhid, although humble and mild, never bows down to
anyone without the approval of his Creator. The follower of
polytheism is proud of himself but, in essence, he is absolutely
impotent since he has nothing to rely upon other than himself,
whereas the follower of Tawhid, although he is naturally weak and
powerless as a human being, is powerful enough to resist the whole
world by the power of his Lord. While the follower of polytheism
is selfish and arrogant since his purpose in life is to satisfy
his worldly desires, the follower of Tawhid is virtuous and
altruistic because his purpose is to gain God’s approval by
working for His pleasure. The boisterous pride of power and wealth
can have no room in the heart of one who believes in Tawhid,
because he knows that whatever he possesses has been bestowed upon
him by God, and that God can take away just as easily as He can
give.

The
follower of Tawhid has the conviction that there is no other means
of success and salvation for him except purity of soul and
righteousness of behavior. He has perfect faith in God, Who is
above all need, is related to none, is absolutely just, and none
has any hand or influence on the exercise of His Divine power.
This belief creates in him the consciousness that, unless he lives
rightly and acts justly, he cannot succeed. No influence or
underhand activity can save him from ruin. As against this, the
followers of polytheism always live on false hopes. Some of them
believe that Jesus, whom they regard as the son of God, has atoned
for their sins; some think that they are God’s favorites, and
accordingly will not be punished; others believe that their ‘idols
or saints’ will intercede with God on their behalf; while others
make offerings to their deities and believe that by so bribing
them they have acquired a license for all frivolities and
ill-deeds and can do whatever they like. Such false beliefs keep
them always entangled in the meshes of sin and evil deeds, and
depending on their deities they neglect to purify their souls and
live pure and good lives.

The
believer in the Divine Unity does not become hopeless and
disappointed under any circumstances. His firm faith in God, Who
is the Master of all the treasures of the earth and the heavens,
and Whose grace and bounty have no limit and powers are infinite,
imparts to his heart extraordinary consolation, fills it with
satisfaction and keeps it filled with hope. In this world he might
meet with rejection at all doors, nothing herein might serve his
ends, all means might, one after another, desert him; but faith
in, and dependence on, God never leave him, and upon their
strength he goes on struggling. Such a profound confidence can
result from no other belief than belief in One God. This belief
produces in man a very strong degree of determination, patient
perseverance, and trust in God. When he makes up his mind and
devotes his resources to fulfill the Divine Commands in order to
secure God’s pleasure, he is sure that he has the support and
backing of the Lord of the Universe. As to polytheists and
atheists, they have small hearts; they depend on limited powers;
therefore in hours of trouble they are soon overwhelmed by despair
and, frequently, they commit suicide. The testimony of Professor
Joad is very explicit on this point. He wrote about the West in
1950s.

For
the first time in history there is coming to maturity a
generation of men and women who have no religion, and feel
no need for one. They are content to ignore it. Also they
are very unhappy, the suicide rate is abnormally high. (The
Present and Future of the Religion)

As opposed
to this, what a non-Muslim historian, not in any way sympathetic
to the creed of Islam, writes about the Islamic conception of
Tawhid is worth mentioning:

In
this uncompromising monotheism, with its simple,
enthusiastic faith in the supreme rule of a transcendental
being, lies the chief strength of Islam. Its adherents enjoy
a consciousness of contentment and resignation unknown among
followers of most creeds. Suicide is rare in Muslim lands.
(Phillip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, 1951, p:129)

Belief in
Tawhid inspires bravery in man. There are two things which make a
man cowardly: (i) fear of death and love of safety, and (ii) the
idea that there is someone else besides God who can take away
life, and that man, by adopting certain devices, can ward off
death. Belief in there is no deity but God purges the mind of both
these ideas. The first idea goes from his mind because he knows
that his life, and his property, and everything else really belong
to God, and he becomes ready to sacrifice his all for God’s
approval. He gets rid of the second idea since he knows that no
weapon, no man or no power can take away his life; God alone has
the power to do so. A time has been ordained for him, and all the
forces of the world combined cannot take away anyone’s life a
moment before the appointed time, nor can they delay his death an
instant. It is because of this firm belief in one God and
dependence upon Him only that no one is braver than a believer.

Belief in
the Oneness of God creates an attitude of peace and contentment,
purges the mind of subtle passions and jealousy, envy and greed,
and keeps away the ideas of resorting to base and unfair means for
achieving success. The believer understands that wealth is in God’s
hands, that honor, power, reputation and authority are subjected
to His Will, and that He bestows them as He wishes; and that man’s
duty is only to endeavor and struggle fairly. He knows that
success and failure depend upon God’s grace; if He wills to
give, no power in the world can prevent Him from doing so; and if
He does not will it, no power can force Him but the believer never
forgets that it is incumbent upon him to try his hardest to
deserve God’s grace. On the other hand, the polytheists and
atheists consider success and failure to come solely from their
own efforts or by the help of earthly powers without taking God’s
grace and Will into consideration. Therefore they always remain
slaves to cupidity and envy. To achieve success, they never
hesitate to have recourse to bribery, flattery, conspiracy, and
other kinds of base and unfair means.

The belief
in the Divine Unity makes man obey and observe the Divine Law. One
who has belief in it is certain that God knows everything hidden
or open, and is nearer to him than his own jugular vein. If he
commits a sin in a secluded corner and in the darkness of night,
God knows it; He even knows our unformed thoughts and intentions,
bad or good, of which we may not ourselves be aware. We can hide
things from everyone, but we cannot hide anything from God; we can
evade everyone, but it is impossible to evade God’s grasp. The
firmer a man’s belief is in this respect, the more observant
will he be of God’s commands. It is for this reason that the
first and the most important condition for being a Muslim is to
have firm and sincere faith in the Oneness of God.

Faith in
One God is the most important and fundamental principle in the
teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and God’s blessings be
upon him). It is the bedrock of Islam and the mainspring of its
power. All other beliefs, commands and laws of Islam stand firm on
this foundation.

Lastly, it
is of much significance to quote the remarks of a famous Italian
orientalist, Dr. Laura Veccia Vaglieri, concerning the universal
spirit of the Islamic Tawhid (Apologia dell Islamismo, translated
into English as ‘An Interpretation of Islam’ by Dr. Caselli,
pp. 30-33):

The
Prophet, with a voice which was inspired by a deep communion
with his Maker, preached the purest monotheism to the
worshippers of fetish and the followers of a corrupted
Christianity and Judaism. He put himself in open conflict
with those regressive tendencies of mankind which lead to
the association of other beings with the Creator.

In
order to lead men to a belief in one God, he did not delude
them with happenings which deviate from the normal course of
nature. Rather, he simply invited them, without asking them
to leave the realm of reality, to consider the Universe and
its laws. Being confident of the resultant belief in the one
and indispensable God, he simply let men read in the book of
life.

Thanks
to Islam, paganism in its various forms was defeated. The
concept of the Universe, the practices of religion, and the
customs of social life were each liberated from all the
monstrosities which had degraded them, and human minds were
made free of prejudice. Man finally realized his dignity.